


Fallen Down

by Moontune



Series: Bendy and the Prompt Machine [4]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Gen, One Shot, Reader is a Child, joey's child to be specific, prompt, reader is gender-neutral, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 15:51:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16915803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moontune/pseuds/Moontune
Summary: Joey Drew Studios is a second home to you - it's where you'd always go when you weren't at school or at your first home. It was big, it was grand, it was like a cartoon paradise for children of every age.But you soon find yourself having a little trouble with your paradise.





	Fallen Down

**Author's Note:**

> No editing we die like men

When you’re a kid, you don’t have to worry about a lot. When you’re a kid, you’re biggest concern isn’t whether or not you can pay rent this month – it’s whether or not you’ll get that toy you’ve been wanting for your birthday. The life of a child is a simple life.

That was the life that you had.

It’s funny how one’s entire life can change in a single instant.

 

It was a day like any other – you had finished school for the day, and went straight to your father’s work afterwards like he always told you to. The studio was your favourite place; a home away from home. You loved to visit with the employees, watch the animators draw, and listen to the band play. Everyone was kind to you, and allowed you to watch them work.

Your favourite person to visit was Shawn Flynn, who always cracked jokes and let you help paint some of the faces on the dolls.

So, like every other day, you dropped your schoolbag off in your father’s office, and went to go down to see the Irish toymaker. Your father wasn’t in his office like he normally was – which led you to assume he was talking with the animators or something. He was a busy man, after all.

As you walked down the stairs through the Music Department, you ran into the janitor, who was cleaning up some spilled coffee. Upon noticing you, he perked up and greeted you with a smile.

“Well heya there, lil’ Drew!” Wally said, leaning on the wooden handle of his mop as he watched you approach him.

“Hi, Mister Franks!” You replied, beaming up at him with a bright smile, “How’re you doing today?”

“Not too bad, actually!” Wally answered, dunking his coffee-stained mop into a nearby bucket of soapy water, “Haven’t had too many messes ta clean up, an’ I’ve still got my keys right here!”

You watched as he patted his pocket where his keys were, only for his expression to turn from relaxed to panic-stricken when he found that his pocket was, in fact, empty. Wally frantically patted down his clothes, searching the pockets of his overalls for the missing keys.

“I, uh…” He muttered, smiling at you sheepishly as you giggled, “I must ‘a left ‘em down in Level K or somethin’.”

“It’s okay,” You assured him, smiling up at him as you winked, “I won’t tell Mister Lawrence anything!”

Wally chuckled at your words as he picked up the bucket of mucky water, moving it off to the side before walking up to you and ruffling your hair.

“Thanks, kiddo. I feel betta already,” He said, before looking over to the nearby stairwell that led down to the elevator. “Say, you was probably headin’ on down there to see Shawn, yeah? Well how’s about I go down with ya?”

Nodding enthusiastically, you took Wally’s hand and followed him to the elevator. You passed by a few employees on the way, all of which greeted you kindly as they walked by. Soon, you came to the elevator, and Wally lifted you up so you could press the button yourself.

You _always_ had fun pressing the elevator buttons.

Once your feet were planted back down on the wooden floor, you bounced excitedly as you waited for the elevator to arrive.

Once the elevator arrived, you were surprised to see someone already on it – and he was equally as surprised to see you as well.

“Good evening, (Y/N).” Thomas said in his usual, gruff tone.

“Hi, Mister Connor!” You replied, smiling up at him as you jumped into the lift. Thomas seemed a little tense as you boarded the elevator, but your child brain brushed it off.

“Wally,” Thomas muttered, acknowledging the janitor as he followed behind you, “If I were you two, I’d take the stairs. This thing’s been getting stuck a lot lately.”

“Eh, we’ll be fine,” Wally responded, brushing off Thomas’ warning, “I know how to get us un-stuck if we do.”

“Suit yourself.” Thomas shrugged, stepping off the lift and allowing it to close behind him.

“Bye Mister Connor!” You yelled after him, frantically waving your hand. Thomas silently waved back, not bothering to look back as Wally pressed the button to Level K.

The lift shuddered slightly, before beginning its descent down.

You hummed happily, rehearsing a tune that your father often whistled. If you could, you would whistle it yourself, but you haven’t been able to figure out how to whistle. Maybe you should ask Jack to teach you so you could surprise him…

“Almost there.” Wally stated. Sure enough, the elevator soon reached Level K – and kept going down, passing your destination.

Wally furrowed his brows as his face scrunched up in confusion. You stared up at him with a similar expression, but he masked his concern with a soft smile when he looked down at you.

“I must’a pressed the wrong button.”

Grinning back up at him, you playfully smacked his thigh.

“Silly Mister Franks,” You giggled, before grabbing his hand once again. He laughed lightly in response, successfully hiding his growing worry as you passed Level 11 and Level P.

“Maybe we should’a took the stairs.” Wally said, his voice lighthearted and joking, but there was a subtle concerned undertone to his words that you missed.

You hummed, blissfully unaware of Wally’s heightened anxiety as you passed Level 9 and Level 14. You failed to notice that you were descending deeper than the elevator was supposed to.

Then, without warning, the lift shuddered and stopped, causing both of you to stumble slightly at the sudden halt. Both you and Wally looked up at the top of the elevator, as if you’d be able to see through it and find the issue.

“Guess the cable’s are bein’ finicky…” He muttered, letting go of your hand and moving toward the emergency hatch.

Before he could open it, the lift lurched downward, the machinery above screeching as you plunged further down the elevator shaft. You let out a panicked scream, falling to the floor as Wally stumbled and gripped the wall beside you.

After a few split seconds of falling, the elevator slowed and stopped.

Tears already began to fall from your eyes as you sobbed heavily. Wally was by your side in an instant, trying to calm you down as you wailed out.

“I want out!” You cried, clutching onto Wally’s overalls as if he were your lifeline. ”I'm scared, I don’t wanna be in here anymore!”

“Okay, it’s okay!” Wally replied in a soft tone, “I’ll... I’ll get us outta here, alright?”

Wally moved so you could let go, only for the lift to squeal and plunge further down. Wally was quick to hold onto you, keeping you close in a protective manner as you screamed and cried.

 

The next thing you knew, you were lying down in a clean white bed. The entire room was white, actually; meaning that you were definitely _not_ in the studio. You heard a steady beeping noise, and upon looking around, you found a bunch of strange machines and contraptions around your bed. Some tubes and wires connected to your body uncomfortably, causing you to whimper and squirm.

Soon, you heard the sound of a door opening, and an unfamiliar, feminine voice spoke up.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” The mystery woman said. Turning your gaze over to her, you watched silently as she looked back through the doorway and said something else that you couldn’t hear.

Then, appearing in the open doorway, you saw your father enter the room.

“Dad?” You spoke up, your voice hoarse as he slowly approached your bedside with a solemn expression.

“How are you…” He started, swallowing thickly as he sat down and looked over your bedridden body. “How are you feeling?”

“I…” You weren’t sure what to say. What happened after the elevator fell? Was Wally okay?

You were lost and confused, unable to grasp at any coherent thought until you moved your arms in the hopes of getting rid of the stiffness in them. It was then that you came to a horrifying discovery.

“I can’t feel my legs!”

You shifted around in your bed in a panic, trying desperately to move them even just a _little_ \-  

“I'm so sorry, (Y/N),” Joey said, his voice shaking as he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around your small body, “I’ll find a way to fix this, I promise.”

 

Things weren’t quite the same after the incident. You had a hard time getting around when you were finally discharged from the hospital.

School was hell. Other kids would taunt you, tease you, and run around throwing things at you. The older, bigger kids would even go so far as to push you out of your wheelchair or tip it over when no teachers were watching.

You stayed inside most recesses, busying yourself with drawing rather than going outside.

More often than not, you would draw crude pictures of your father’s cartoons. You’d draw Bendy sitting in your wheelchair with you, Alice pushing both of you happily as Boris chased away any bullies.

You tried to make the best of things, but it was hard.

Getting to the lower levels in the studio proved to be rather tedious. It required you to be helped by at least two people; one to carry you, and the other to carry your wheelchair.

You never used the elevator.

No one looked at you the same way, either. Sure, Shawn would still joke with you, Sammy and Jack would still play for you, Susie would still sing for you; but behind the smiles were eyes clouded with pity for you.

As you would soon find out, Wally had also been injured in the fall – but with time and effort he’d recover and be back on his feet. You were far less fortunate.

It was a miracle in itself that you had both survived – but it would take an even bigger miracle for you to walk again.

Lucky for you, your father made a living in making miracles happen.


End file.
